


Two Heads Are Better than One

by Pony Girl (Jackjunkie)



Category: Alias Smith and Jones
Genre: Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-28
Updated: 2012-10-28
Packaged: 2017-11-17 06:09:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/548446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackjunkie/pseuds/Pony%20Girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Young Heyes learns a coin trick from a traveling magician he and Curry encounter on the road.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Heads Are Better than One

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in the zine Just You, Me and the Governor #13

Two thin blue slits were all that could be seen of Jed Curry’s eyes as he squinted into the distance.

“Do ya think they’ll give us a ride?” he asked his cousin.

“Don’t see why not.” Hannibal Heyes shrugged offhandedly. “Long as they got the room.”

“Sure would be nice to ride for a spell,” Jed said wistfully. “Feels like we been walkin’ from the Mississippi to the Pacific an’ back.”

“Don’t you worry none, Jed,” the older boy said confidently. “The day will come when we won’t hafta walk or hitch rides from other folks. Someday we’ll have a carriage of our own, a fancy black one with a gold stripe all around and soft leather seats, and a stable full of horses to pull it, too, or to ride whenever we’ve a mind to.”

“I know, Heyes. The way you tell it, someday sounds real fine. I’d kinda like a break from walkin’ today, though.” Ordinarily Jed enjoyed listening to his older cousin’s grand dreams of their glittering future, but right now his feet were dragging and he just wanted to stop putting one in front of the other and sit down. Sometimes it felt as though they hadn’t stopped running ever since they’d run away from the orphanage.

Having left the Valparaiso Home for Waywards far behind them, the two young teens had been on their own long enough to appreciate a lucky chance like the approaching wagon. As it drew abreast of them, two sets of eyes locked hopefully on the driver.

“Whoa!” With a pull on the reins, a smiling man of middle age drew the single horse to a halt. “A good day to you, fellow travelers,” he greeted them in a lightly accented voice.

The young teenage girl seated next to him duplicated both his smile and his looks. It was easy to see they must be related. The large, dark eyes and even darker, wavy hair looked considerably prettier on the girl, however, reflected Jed as he attempted to smooth down his own unruly, much lighter curls.

“Mornin’, sir,” Heyes bobbed his head politely. “Got room to spare for a couple o’ passengers?”

“I just might, young man, for a pair of likely lads willing to help out with the driving, so I can spend the time more productively in the practice of my art,” the man answered merrily.

“Art?” Heyes inquired politely. “You paint pictures?”

“No, my boy, I am an artist in quite a different field, although it might be said that I create pictures of a sort in the images I present upon the stage. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Renaldo the Remarkable and this is my daughter and my assistant, the fair Miranda.” Bowing with a flourish, he exchanged a fond, proud look with his daughter.

Jed wasn’t sure how remarkable Renaldo might be, but he was quite sure that Miranda was very fair indeed.

“I’m Hannibal Heyes and this is my cousin, Jed Curry,” Heyes reciprocated the introductions. “Are you actors then?” Renaldo certainly conducted himself with a dramatic flair.

“No, but we are performers,” came the answer. “I am a magician.” He paused to accept their expressions of awe at this revelation. “Miranda and I travel from town to town, amazing the populace with feats of prestidigitation and sleight of hand. I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance, young Hannibal, young Jed. Tell us, how do you lads come to be out here on foot and all alone?” He looked from one to the other expectantly.

Jed waited for his companion to speak up. He was never quite sure what tale that agile mind would spin next, but he knew he could always count on him to come up with something. He wasn’t disappointed.

“We didn’t start out that way,” Heyes said. “We were traveling on the stage to, uh, meet our uncle and the horses up and died.”

“What, all of them?” Renaldo asked in surprise.

“Yes, sir. Poison water,” Heyes explained with a somber shake of his head.

“Ah, I see. What happened to the others?”

“Others?”

“The driver, the other passengers.”

“Oh, weren’t no other passengers. The driver, he died, too.”

“He didn’t drink the poison water as well, did he?”

“No, sir. He got shot.”

“Shot? But who shot him?” Renaldo looked bewildered.

“A band o’ desperadoes,” Heyes revealed with relish. “When they saw the stage stopped like that on account o’ the horses, they musta thought it’d be easy pickin’s an’ decided to hold us up. Shot the driver dead, they did.” The teen was very firm on that point.

“They sound like fearsome men,” Renaldo remarked thoughtfully.

“Oh, they were. Mighty fearsome.”

“How did you two get away then?”

Jed was interested to hear that himself.

“Oh, that was the bear,” Heyes produced the answer as the magician might produce a rabbit from his hat.

“A bear.”

“A big bear it was, musta been a grizzly, showed up and chased ‘em away.”

“Oh, Papa, a bear!” Miranda shrank closer to her father in alarm.

“Now, now, my dear,” Renaldo patted her arm, “I’m sure it’s far away from here by now. After all, these look like sensible lads. I’m sure they walked in the opposite direction from the one the bear took.” He gazed searchingly from one to the other.

“That’s just what we done,” Heyes nodded. “I bet that bear’s chased them outlaws clear into the next county by now.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” Renaldo said. “We must be thankful for your narrow escape.”

Looking at him carefully, Jed wondered if Heyes had gone just a step too far this time. His cousin had a real knack for storytelling, but Jed thought he tended to get carried away sometimes with the sound of his own voice. Far from looking suspicious, however, Renaldo merely continued to smile benevolently at them.

“Come, climb aboard and join us, as you seem to be going our way,” he invited.

“Thank you, sir,” Heyes accepted. “We’d be obliged for the ride, just till the next town, o’ course, where we can get word to our uncle.”

Jed took the opportunity to jump in with the offer he’d been biding his time to make. “I’ll take a turn at driving, Heyes, if you’d like to watch Mr. Renaldo practice his magic.” He gave Miranda another friendly smile and was pleased to see her smile back.

“Yes, yes, come up, come up,” the magician said, “but it’s Renaldo - no ‘Mr.’ if you please.”

The boys climbed into the wagon and they were soon again on their way. Taking charge of the reins, Jed happily listened to Miranda as she chatted to him about life on the road and on the stage with her remarkable father, while his cousin settled comfortably in the enclosed portion in the back of the wagon with Renaldo.

Heyes watched with interest as the conjurer began to manipulate small objects such as coins and cards. The man possessed an astonishing dexterity as he shuffled, turned, slid, tossed, transformed, duplicated, and caused items to disappear and reappear truly as if by magic. Heyes knew they were tricks of course, but it took very close watching of them being executed over and over before he could spot a move that might give him a clue to how they were accomplished.

Renaldo appeared pleased when the teen caught on once or twice. The magician let him in on a few secrets, demonstrating how some of the basic tricks were done. Heyes was a quick study.

“I get it,” he exclaimed in satisfaction. “You wanted me to look there, while you moved that over here.”

“Very astute, young Hannibal. The hand is not always quicker than the eye, so we must give it a helping hand, so to speak, by using misdirection. I perceive you have a gift for this art of mine. Here, let me show you another. I shall flip a coin and endeavor to predict which way it shall fall.”

“You could use a special coin,” Heyes guessed.

“We shall use your own coin if you like,” Renaldo told him.

Heyes dug in his pocket and produced a quarter.

Renaldo accepted it and tossed it into the air, calling “Heads!” The coin landed on the little tabletop between them and rolled to a stop - heads up.

“That’s a lucky call,” Heyes said.

“Ah, we make our own luck, young Hannibal,” Renaldo said, flipping the coin into the air once again. Again they watched it land on heads - and again, and again.

Heyes was mystified. It was his own very ordinary two-bit piece from his own just as ordinary pocket, so how could the magician possibly either see or control which way it would fall?

“I will show you the trick of it,” Renaldo said at last, with a twinkle in his eye. “I pick up the coin which you gave me, yes, but before I toss it, I exchange it, so, with this other coin hidden in my hand. You see?” He held it out for the boy to examine.

Turning it over, Heyes could see a head stamped on either side of the magician’s coin. No matter which way it landed, it would always be heads.

“And I have another with two tails,” Renaldo added, pulling another coin seemingly out of the air. “When the toss is done, I pick it up, exchange it again, and hand you back your own coin, so, with no one the wiser.” His cheerful laugh rang through the small wagon.

Eagerly Heyes tried to imitate what he’d seen, palming one coin while exchanging it for another. He fumbled clumsily.

“You will get better with practice,” Renaldo encouraged him. “Here, like this.” He demonstrated slowly so the boy could see each distinct motion.

Heyes continued to practice with the coins as they rode along, and improved measurably as the day wore on.

“Papa, we’re coming into town,” Miranda called at length from the front seat.

“Keep it,” Renaldo told Heyes as he held out the two-headed coin to give it back, “as a gift for being a good audience and a good student. It’s not often I have the pleasure of teaching one with such talented fingers.”

“Thanks.” Heyes’ mind was already awhirl with potential uses for the new toy.

He and Renaldo moved back outside behind Jed and Miranda. They all looked around with interest at the new surroundings.

“We must stop at the hotel and find out the best place to hold our performance,” said Renaldo. “Are you boys planning on traveling on directly to, er, meet your uncle? You’re very welcome to stay with us - that is, while you wait to hear from him, or in the event your plans change.”

Blue eyes shone brightly at the suggestion, but blinked in resignation when they saw the other boy shake his head.

“Thanks anyway, but we gotta be movin’ on,” Heyes said. “Just drop us at the stagecoach station and we’ll be fine.”

“I have no doubt you will,” Renaldo said, “but come look for us at the hotel if you change your minds.”

“If you are still in town tomorrow, you must come see our show,” Miranda invited as they pulled to a stop. “We’ll put up handbills in all the shops when we decide where we’ll be.”

“We’ll sure try an’ make it if we’re still around,” Jed promised, as they said their good-byes to their new friends.

The boys waited until the wagon was out of sight before walking away from the stage office.

“We coulda stayed with ‘em till after dinner,” Jed complained.

“Renaldo’s pretty sharp,” Heyes answered. “He mighta guessed there ain’t no uncle.”

“It was a good story, Heyes. About the stagecoach an’ the poison water an’ the outlaws an’ the bear.”

“Yeah, it was a good one, but maybe there was too much of it,” Heyes acknowledged, echoing Jed’s earlier misgivings. “Better not to take a chance in any case. We don’t want to wind up back in an orphanage.”

Jed agreed with a shudder.

“We can scare up somethin’ to eat on our own.” Heyes eyed Jed consideringly.

The younger boy groaned. “Do I hafta be lost again? I did it last time. Why can’t you do it this time?”

“You know why. You’re younger. With that face, you look even younger than you are. Ladies just love to mother you. It makes more sense for me to come lookin’ for you than the other way round. You wake up some mornin’ as the older one, kid, an’ then I’ll play lost, and let some nice lady feed me till you show up,” Heyes generously offered.

“We’re both gettin’ too old for this game, Heyes. Can’t we just spend some o’ the money we got left? We’re gonna hafta see about earnin’ some more tomorrow anyhow.”

Heyes started to object, then grinned suddenly. “I tell you what, Jed. We’ll flip for it.”

“Whose coin?” Jed asked doubtfully. He knew his cousin well enough to suspect a trick.

“Yours if ya want,” Heyes answered disarmingly. “Ya got a quarter?”

Jed handed over two bits.

Heyes looked the coin over and flipped it into the air. “Heads!” he called. The coin landed with the heads side facing up. Heyes scooped it up with a laugh. “I win,” he announced, handing the quarter back to Jed.

Jed pocketed the quarter with a sigh. Then he gave a good-natured grin. “Guess I should know better by now than to try to change your plans. Okay, let’s go hunt up someone who looks likely to feed a lost boy.”

The two teens walked slowly along the town’s street, discussing prospects.

Jed thought things over as they walked. He wondered whether his cousin had picked up some trick from the Remarkable Renaldo to manage to win that coin toss. He’d spent enough time back in the wagon watching the magician practice to have learned a few things while Jed kept Miranda company.

Well, Jed really didn’t mind giving in this time. He’d gotten what he wanted out of the day, spending it off his feet and with a pretty girl besides, while Heyes was stuck in that stuffy wagon with her father.

There’d be plenty more coin tosses in the future, Jed reasoned, in that far-off someday Heyes was always talking about. It was bound to be Jed’s turn to win someday.

THE END


End file.
